Real Never Waits ((Sequel to Not Alone))
by Katherine997
Summary: Now that The Doctor had regeneration, Samantha Forbes Tyler and The new Doctor headed to new more adventures.
1. Chapter 1

I watched, half concealed by a pillar as the man dashed to the console and flicked a few switches, checking the monitor, "6 PM . . . Tuesday . . . October . . . 5006 . . . On the way to Barcelona!" He straightens up and faced me, grinning as if extremely pleased with himself.

"Now then . . . what do I look like?" He asked. I opened my mouth to speak but he hold his hand up and I jumped, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. Don't tell me," He said. I stared at him shocked and scared.

"Let's see . . . two legs, two arms, two hands . . ." He said and tested his wrist, circling it. "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle." He put his hands in his head. "Hair! I'm not bald!" He ran his hands through his hair gleefully, "Oh, Oh! Big hair! Or really bad skin. Little bit thinner . . ." He slapped his stomach, "That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it. I . . . have got . . . a mole. I can feel it."

I breathed heavily staring at him as he continued, "Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole. That's all right. Love the mole," He said with a smile and looked at me again, "Go on then, tell me." He stood straight up before me while his hair was all ruffled, "What do you think?"

I looked at him in fear and swallowed. "Who are you?" I asked and his smile faded away as he looked a bit surprised. "I'm The Doctor," He said. I shook my head as I took a step back, "No . . . Where is he?"

"You saw me, I, I changed . . . Right in front of you," He said. "You replaced him, like a . . . A teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something," I said. He didn't say nothing and just looked at me. "Send him back," I demanded, "I'm warning you; send The Doctor back right now!"

"Sam, it's me," He said softly, "Honestly, it's me." I took another step back as he took step forwards but he stopped, "I was dying. To save my own life I changed my body. Every single cell, but . . . it's still me." I shook my head, "No, you can't be," I whispered, fighting back my tears.

He took a few steps closer to me, looking straight down into my blue eyes, "Then how could I remember this? Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies . . . Oh . . ." He looked away for a moment before looking back into my eyes, "Such a long time ago. I took your hand . . ." He gently took my hand and I glanced briefly down at our joint hands, and then back up at his face. "I said one word . . . Just one word, I said . . . 'Run'."

I looked into his brown eyes and blinked. "Doctor?" I whispered. He grinned, "Hello," He said gently. Then he took off around the other side of the console and I took a step back, shocked.

"And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running . . ." He said as he flicked a few switches on the console, "One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives."

He hoped madly up and down on the spot as I had my back against the pillar, and just watched him. "Yeah? All that hopping? Remember hopping for your life? Yeah?! Hop? With the . .. " He said before he stopped as he watched me, "No?"

"Can you . . .Can you change back?" I asked. "Do you want me to?" He asked. "Yes," I replied. "Oh," He said. "Can you?" I asked. "No," He replied. He glanced briefly down at the floor and then back at me, "Do you want to leave?"

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked sadly. "No!" He said quickly, "But . . . Your choice . . . If you want to go home . . ."

I looked at him upset while he walked over to the console again, "Cancel Barcelona. Change to . . . London . . . The Powell Estate . . . Ah . . . Let's say the 24th of December." He looked at me, "Consider it a Christmas present."

I walked slowly closer the console, and looked at him, then at the console. The TARDIS shudders as it changed direction. "I'm going home?" I asked and looked at him. "Up to you. Back to your Uncle, Aunt and cousin . . . It's all waiting," He said, "Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast . . . No, Christmas! Turkey! Although . . . Having met your Aunt . . . Nut loaf would be more appropriate."

I looked down quickly to hide a smile and shook my head slightly. "Was that a smile?" The Doctor asked. "No," I said as I glanced at him. "That was a smile . . ." He said with a smile. "No it wasn't," I said. "You smiled . . ." He said with a smile before he gaged as the TARDIS shuddered.

I looked around before back at him. The same thing happened again, more violently. He made nasty retching noises, "Uh oh," He said. "Are you okay?" I asked. A piece of gold came out from his mouth. "What's that?" I asked. "Oh . . . The change is going a bit wrong and all," He explained before gaging again.

He fall to his knees as his face contorted and I swallowed slowly. "Maybe we should go back. Let's go and find Captain Jack, he'd know what to do," I said. "Gah, he's busy! He's got plenty to do rebuilding the Earth!" He said and then looked around before frowning, "I haven't used this one in years."

He flicked a lever and the TARDIS shuddered violently. "What're you doing?!" I asked as I grabbed the console. "Putting on a bit of speed! That's it!" He said. He turned more knobs while I tried to maintain a more secure grip on the console.

"My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl!" The Doctor yelled. I looked at him with fear; He looked and sounded violent, crazed. "Faster! Wanna to break the time limit?!"

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Ah, don't be so dull . . . let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!" He said before catching my eyes for a moment in spoke calmly, "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself." He grimaced in pain, "Ah, my head . . . Faster! Let's open those engines!"

A bell rang and I looked around, "What's that?" I asked before looking at The Doctor to see his face closer to mine, "We're gonna crash land!" He said with a grin before laughing manically. "So do something!" I said. "Too late! Out of control!" He said before running around the console, giggling. "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!"

He hopped in the air excitedly and my jaw dropped. "You're gonna kill us!" I said. "Hold on tight, here we go!" He said and we looked at each other across the console. He grinned madly, "Christmas Eve."


	2. Chapter 2

We suddenly stopped and The Doctor rushed to the door to open it. "Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it. Pete. Jackie. Rose. Mickey. Blimey!" He said as he stepped outside, "No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!"

I rushed outside to see The Doctor passing out and my best friend and family kneeling around him. "What happened?" I asked as I kneeled beside him. "I don't know, he just passed out," Rose said.

"Who is he?" Uncle Pete asked. "Where's The Doctor?" Mickey asked. "That's him, right in front of you. That's The Doctor," I replied. "What do you mean, that's the Doctor? Doctor who?" Aunt Jackie asked.

We got The Doctor into our house and I sat on Uncle and Aunt's bed that he was laying on. I stared at him until Aunt Jackie come in with a stethoscope. "Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to hospital," She said as she handed the stethoscope to me.

"No, we can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race," I explained. She sighed before leaving the room.

I put on the stethoscope and listened to both sides of The Doctor's chest. I smiled a little as both of his hearts were working. I took off the stethoscope and stood up to leave the room.

I went into the kitchen and looked through the fridge. "How can he go changing his face? Is that a different face or is he a different person?" Aunt Jackie asked. "I wouldn't know," I said sadly.

"Mum, we should give her some space," Rose spoke and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, "She's probably heartbroken right now."

"It's not that I'm heartbroken. I just . . ." I trailed off and closed the fridge before turning to her and Aunt Jackie, "The thing is I thought I knew him. I really did. And then he goes and does this. I keep forgetting he's not human." I looked out to the living room to see the TV was on and I frowned, "Is that Harriet Jones?" The three of us walked into the living room, "Why's she on the TV?"

"Uh, she's Prime Minister now," Uncle Pete replied. "They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Sam has met her," Aunt Jackie said. "Actually stopped World War Three with her," I corrected, scoffing.

Mickey walked in and sighed, "Rose, we heading off?" He asked. "Yeah," Rose said before turning to me, "We going for shopping, how about you'll come with us?"

I shook my head and gave them a small smile, "No, thanks. You two should go, have fun," I said. "Come on, Sammy," Mickey said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "He'll be fine. Pete and Jackie are here. You need some time off."

"He's right," Uncle Pete spoke and gave me a smile, "You three go on, we're going to stay here. Don't worry, just have fun." I sighed after a moment before nodding slightly, "Okay."

Rose grinned and linked her arm with mine before following me with her and Mickey out, "See you later!"

"Bye," Aunt Jackie called before we closed the door and headed out. We walked in the streets as it got dark, "So what do you need? Twenty quid?" Mickey asked me. "Now, now, Mickey," Rose said, "She's my cousin, I'll give her the money."

"I'm okay, thanks. I've got money," I said. "Sammy. Call it a Christmas present from your cousin," Rose said. She dug into her pocket and pulled out money for me. I sighed but gave her a smile as I took it, "Thanks. I feel all out of sync. You're in the TARDIS for a while and it's like your completely out of line with reality. I forgot it was Christmas."

"That's fascinating, because I love hearing all about the TARDIS," Mickey said sarcastically and I looked down sadly. "Mickey, knock it off, will ya?" Rose whispered. "Well, hey at least I don't go changing my face," Mickey said.

"What if he's dying?" I asked all of a sudden. "Great, thank you, Mickey," Rose said sarcastically. "No, I didn't mean like that," Mickey said. "No, no. It's okay," I said. "Sammy, just let it be Christmas," Rose said as we stopped walking, "He'll be fine. Spend some quality time with your cousin and best friend."

I glanced between them and then nodded a little before giving a small smile, "You're right. Okay. I promise." They smiled and Rose wrapped her arm around my shoulder before we started to walk again. "Good," She said. "So, hey, what're we going to get for Jackie and Pete?" Mickey asked but I shrugged.

I looked behind and noticed the band that was playing, following us but when I looked at them, they stopped playing. One trombone spat out fire and I grabbed Mickey's and Rose's hands and hid. "Are they after us?" Rose asked. "I think so," I said.

A tuba was being used as a gun and started to shot so we ran. The tuba blast hit a tree which fell on the one who was holding the tuba. "What's going on? What've we done? Why are they after us?" Mickey asked. "Taxi!" Rose called, waving her hand up to a taxi that was driving close by. the car stopped and the three of us climbed in the back seat.

"They're after The Doctor," I said as I pulled out my phone to call home but the line was busy, making me groan in frustration, "Oh come on. Someone's on the phone."

"Who were those Santa things?" Mickey asked. "I don't know," I said, "But think about it. They were after us. What's important about us? Well, nothing, except the one thing we've got tucked up in bed. The Doctor."

The taxi dropped us off at the apartment and we ran inside to see Aunt Jackie on the phone. "Aunt Jackie, get off the phone," I said. "It's only Bev," She said. Rose grabbed the phone, "Bev? Yeah. Look, this conversation will have to wait. Sorry," She said and hung up.

"It's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?" I asked. "My mate Stan, he'll put us up," Mickey said. "That's only two streets away," Rose said, "What about cousin Mo?"

"Yeah. Where's she living now?" I asked. "Peak District," Uncle Pete replied with a frown. "Okay then, we'll go to cousin Mo's," I said. "No, it's Christmas Eve. We're not going anywhere," Aunt Jackie said and I looked over to see a tree, "Aunt Jackie, Uncle Pete. Where did you get that tree?"

They both glanced over at the tree before back at me in confusion. "We thought it was you and Rose," Aunt Jackie said. "Mum, how can it be us?" Rose asked.

"Well, you both went shopping," Aunt Jackie pointed out. "There was a ring at the door, and there it was," Uncle Pete said. "We didn't buy any trees," I said, shaking my head. "Then who was it?" Aunt Jackie asked.

Suddenly the tree lit up itself before it started teirling and playing Jinglw bells. "Oh, you're kidding me," I said. It twirled faster and faster, heading towards us. I ran to the bedroom where The Doctor was.

"What're you doing?" Aunt Jackie asked. "We've got to save The Doctor. We can't just leave him," I said. I slipped the blanket off of The Doctor, "Please wake up Doctor."

Uncle Pete, Rose, Mickey and Aunt Jackie ran into the room, closing the bedroom door. I ran over to The Doctor's jacket and grabbed the Sonic Screwdriver before running back over to The Doctor, and placed it in his hand.

The tree crashed into the room and I leaned over to The Doctor's ear, "Help me." The Doctor's eyes suddenly shot opened and sat up, pointing the Sonic Screwdriver at the tree, and it exploded. The Doctor looked at me, "Remote control," He explained before looking around, "But who's controlling it?" He grabbed a robe and put it on before leading us out of the apartment.

The brass band was closer by the building, looking at us. "Oh great, not them again," Rose whined. "What are they?" Mickey asked. The Doctor aimed the Sonic Screwdriver at the band, making them backed away, and beamed away.

"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a Sonic Screwdriver's going to scare them off," Mickey said. "Pilot fish," The Doctor said. "What?" I asked. "They were just pilot fish," He explained before he stepped back in pain and we all grabbed him.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy," The Doctor said and then he breathed out the golden energy. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of ow!" He had another jolt of pain. "My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need."

"What do you need?" Aunt Jackie asked.

"I need -"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need -"

"Painkillers?"

"I need -"

"Do you need aspirin?"

"I need -"

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"

"I need -"

"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

"I need -"

"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up."

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Aunt Jackie said as she looked at me. The Doctor had another jolt of pain, "We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then." He had a jolt of pain again, "Argh! Brain collapsing." He grabbed onto me and looked into my eyes, "The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming." With that, he passed out again.

Uncle Pete and Mickey put The Doctor back to the bed and then walked out of the room. I grabbed a wet cloth and started dabbing The Doctor's forehead. I listened to his hearts with the stethoscope and heard only one beating heart. I stared sadly at his face before getting up as I put the stethoscope on the side table.

I walked into the living room to see Rose and Uncle Pete sitting on the couch, watching the TV before they looked over at me. "Any change?" Rose asked softly. "He's worse," I replied, shaking my head. "Drink this sweetie," Aunt Jackie said as he handed me a cup of tea. I looked into the cup but didn't drink it or listened to the TV.

"Here we go, pilot fish," Mickey said as he walked over with his laptop, "Scavengers, like The Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

"Like a shark," Uncle Pete said. "Great big sharks," Mickey agreed, "So, what The Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that."

"'Something is coming'. How close?" I asked. "There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their daddy," Mickey said. "So, it's close?" Rose asked. "Funny sort of rocks," Aunt Jackie said.

Uncle Pete, Rose, Mickey and I looked back at the TV. "That's not rocks," I said, frowning.

 _'This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning_ '.

Suddenly the TV showed a red-eyed ugly alien with a head like a goat's skull and it growled at the screen. Uncle Pete shut the TV off and we all breathed out.

... ..

A little while after, I was sitting on the couch before Mickey called, "Sam. Come take a look." I got up and walked up to him, "Found anything?" I asked. "I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way," He informed. "Coming for what, though? The Doctor?" I asked. "I don't know," He replied, "Maybe it's coming for all of us."

Suddenly an image of four aliens appeared on the computer screen and we jumped slightly. They started talking but we couldn't understand. "Have you seen them before?" Mickey asked.

"No. I don't understand them. The TARDIS translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am," I said. "So, why isn't it doing it now?" He asked. "I don't know. Must be The Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's, he's broken," I said sadly before walking to the bedroom where The Doctor was.

I stared at him for a long moment before glancing at my side to see Rose. She placed her hand on my shoulder and I looked back at The Doctor. "The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us," I said.

"You love him, don't you Sammy?" She asked. I glanced at her with tears in my eyes but quickly looked down before she pulled me into a hug.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sammy." I felt my shoulder gently been shaking as a soft voice tried to wake me up. "Sammy, wake up." I let my eyes open slowly and looked at my hand to see it was holding someone's else hand. I pulled my head up to see that I had fall a sleep beside The Doctor. I glanced to my side to see Aunt Jackie, "You fall a sleep sweetheart," She stated, "It's morning."

I sighed tiredly and used my free hand to rub my eyes. "Come on, I'm making breakfast, go get yourself cleaned up," She said softly as I let her led me out of the bedroom. I glanced over the living room to see Mickey and Uncle Pete were getting up from the couches as I walked back to my room.

After getting showered and dressed up in new clothes, I went to the kitchen but stopped when I heard voices outside. I walked out to see one of the neighbors, "Sandra?" I asked, making her turned to me, "He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking! There's this sort of light thing." She turned around, "Jason? Stop it right now! Please, Jason, just stop."

I looked off the balcony and noticed a lot of people walking as well. Rose stepped out and walked up to me. "What's going on?" She asked. "I don't know. Come on," I said and we both followed all the people to the roof. Everyone were lined up against the edge. "What do we do?" Rose asked. "Nothing," I said sadly, "No one is here to save us."

Rose and I went back home and told Uncle Pete, Aunt Jackie and Mickey what happened. We all watched the TV to see Harriet on the news.

 _'Ladies and gentlemen, if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech. I'm afraid that's been cancelled. Did we ask about the royal family? Oh. They're on the roof. But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God help us_.'

I glanced to the bedroom that The Doctor was before walking over there. I sat on the bed and stared at him for a moment before I let the tears fall. I put my head on his chest, crying. I felt hands behind me and I turned around to see Aunt Jackie. "He's gone," I sobbed, "The Doctor's gone. He's left me, Aunt Jackie. He's left me."

She placed her hands on my cheeks, wiping away my tears before wrapping her arms around me. "It's all right," She said softly as she hugged me tightly, "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, there was a loud shattering of glass. We got up and ran outside with Uncle Pete, Rose and Mickey. We looked up at the building and noticed all the shattered windows and glass. The people were still lined up and a space ship flew by.

I turned to everyone, "We have to go," I said before rushing past them to the bedroom with everyone following me, "We've got to carry him."

"To where?" Uncle Pete asked as he and Mickey walked to both of The Doctor's sides. "To the TARDIS. It's the only safe place on Earth," I replied. "What're we going to do in there?" Aunt Jackie asked. "We're going to hide," I said sadly.

"Is that it?" She asked. "Aunt Jackie, look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry," I said.

"Okay, let's move," Mickey said before he and Uncle Pete started to pull The Doctor up, and they carried him out as I followed while Rose and Aunt Jackie grabbed the food.

We reached to the TARDIS and I opened the door for the men so they carried The Doctor inside. They placed him on the floor by the console and then turned back to me. "Can you fly it?" Uncle Pete asked as Rose walked in.

"Not anymore," I said. "But you did it before," Mickey pointed out, frowning. "I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden," I said, shaking my head as Aunt Jackie walked in. "So, what do we do?" Rose asked. "Well, pretty much just sit here I guess," I said. "How about a cup of tea?" Aunt Jackie suggested. "Mmm, the solution to everything," Rose said sarcastically.

"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food," Aunt Jackie said before stepping out. Uncle Pete sighed before walking outside as well. I looked down at The Doctor and Mickey scoffed. "Tea," He said, "Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British."

I walked up the console and looked at the screen, trying to make it turn on. "How does this thing work?" Mickey asked as he and Rose walked up to me, "If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"

There was an odd pattern on the screen, "Maybe it's a distress signal," Mickey suggested. "A lot of good that's going to do," I muttered. "Sammy, try to lighten up," Rose said. "I can't," I said, sighing. "Let's look at this from my point of view," Mickey said and looked at Rose, "We're stuck in here with your Mum's cooking."

I glanced at him and chuckled slightly as Rose gave him a look. "Just saying," He said, holding his hands up in defends. "You love her cooking," Rose said. "You two are so cute," I said, smirking before looking at the closed door, "Where are they?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should go help them," Rose suggested. "Yep, good idea," I agreed and went over to the door, and opened it. I stepped out before suddenly was grabbed and dragged away, "Get off! Get off me!"

I looked up to see it was the alien that was in the TV. I gasped before turning to the TARDIS to see Mickey and Rose running out. "The door! Close the door!" I said and Rose closed the door just in time.

"Sam. Sam!" I looked back over to see Harriet. She rushed towards me and pulled me into a tight hug, "I've got you. My Lord. Oh, my precious thing." We pulled away and she grabbed my hands, "The Doctor, is he with you?"

"No. We're on our own," I said sadly before we turned back to the alien as it spoke. "The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet," A man translated. "No she's wont," Harriet protested and the alien spoke again. "Then she will die first," The man translated.

"No, leave her alone!" Rose said. "Don't touch her!" Mickey said. "Leave her alone," Harriet said as the three of them were held back as the leader walked up to me, and spoke. "We are the Sycorax. If you will not speak for your planet," The man translated.

"I'm not the one that supposed to speak for the planet," I said. "Then your world will be gutted and your people enslaved," The Sycorax spoke. "Then your world will be gutted and - Hold on, that's English," The man said.

"You're talking English," I said. "I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile," The Sycorax said. "That's English," I stated before turning to the others, "Can you hear English?" They all nodded and I turned back to the Sycorax.

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" The Sycorax said. "If I can hear English, then it's being translated. Which means," I said and we all turned to look at the TARDIS just in time to see the doors opening, revealing The Doctor.

I breathed out and stepped away from the Sycorax as The Doctor grinned, "Did you miss me?" He asked as he stepped out. The Sycorax cracked his whip and The Doctor caught it, and tugged it out of it's hand. "You could have someone's eye out with that," The Doctor scolded. "How dare!" The Sycorax said and raised it's club.

The Doctor got it and pulled it out of the Sycorax's hand before he broke it in half with his leg. "You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy," The Doctor said and turned to us with a grin.

"Mickey, hello!" He said, shaking Mickey's hand as they shared a grin before he turned to Rose as I stood beside her, "Rose, nice to see you again, lovely as always!" He turned to Harriet, "And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This Is Your Life." Then he looked at me, "Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses." He stood in front of me with a serious look, "Now, first thing's first. Be honest . . . how do I look?"

"Um, different," I said. "Good different or bad different?" He asked. "Just . . . You know, different," I said. "Am I . . ." He started, "Ginger?"

I glanced up at his hair before back to his eyes, "No, you're just brown," I said. He turned around, whining, "I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger." He looked back at me with a pointed finger, "And you, Samantha Forbes Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me. Oh, that's rude." He frowned, "That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger."

"I'm sorry. Who is this?" Harriet asked me. "I'm The Doctor," The Doctor said. "He's The Doctor," I repeated, smiling a little. "But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet asked, "Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything," The Doctor said as he walked up to her. "But you can't be," She said. "Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being on her own," He said.

"Oh, my God," Harriet breathed out. "Did you win the election?" He asked with a smile. "Landslide majority," She replied with a smile. "If I might interrupt," The Sycorax spoke and The Doctor turned back to it, "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?" The Sycorax asked. "Well, that's the question," The Doctor said. "I demand to know who you are!" The Sycorax roared.

"I don't know!" The Doctor shot back, imitated the Sycorax's roar before turning back to his normal voice, "See, there's the thing. I'm The Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny?" He started to wander around, "Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He glanced to my direction and winked, making me slightly blush and smiled shyly so I grabbed Rose's arm to hid, making her smirk at me.

The Doctor continued, "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed?" His speech started to pick up a speed, "A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck?" He climbed up some stairs, "I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." He turned around to look up the stairs, "And how am I going to react -" He grinned when he turned back to all of us, "- When I see this." He pointed up, "A great big threatening button." He hopped up the stairs closer to the red button, "A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right?" A few of the Sycorax started to climb up after him as he continued to oblivious, "Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?"

The Doctor bend down to open a base under the button and peered in, "And what've we got here?" He stucked a finger in and licked something red, "Blood? Yeah, definitely blood." I pulled a face in disgust and he looked at all of us, "Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives." He got up, "Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this." He slammed his hand down on the button and I gasped. "No!" Harriet and I shouted.

"You killed them!" The man cried. "What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?" The Doctor asked the Sycorx leader. "We allow them to live," It said.

"Allow? You've no choice. I mean, that's all blood control is," The Doctor said in amusement. He rubbed his ear as he wandered off again, "A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force," The Sycorax growled.

"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could," The Doctor agreed, "But why? Look at these people. These human beings." He gestured to us, "Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than. No, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!" He stepped behind a guard.

"Or what?" The Sycorax asked. "Or," The Doctor said and unsheathed a sword on the guard's belt and ran forwards, to stand in front of the TARDIS, "I challenge you." All the Sycorax started to laugh.

"Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?" The Doctor asked as he started to remove his robe.

"You stand as this world's champion," The Sycorax said as he withdrew his own sword. I rushed towards The Doctor with Rose, Mickey and Harriet following behind me.

"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up," The Doctor stated as he tossed the robe at me. "So, you accept my challenge?" He raised his sword, "Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

The Sycorax roared indignantly and raised it's sword, and all the Sycorax growled and cheered. The Doctor and the Sycorax leader knelt before each other with their sword, "For the planet?" The Sycorax asked.

"For the planet," The Doctor agreed and they both stood up, raising their swords. They stood facing each other until The Doctor struck first, only ti be net with the leader's parry. They swung at each other and clashed again, but the leader swung his sword, causing The Doctor to stumble back. He glanced towards me and I nodded in encouragement.

He faced the leader once more and the two soon clashed swords once again, but only after a few strokes, The Doctor fell down on his knees and the leader swung down at him.

"Look out!" I called as Rose grabbed my arm tightly, to make sure I wasn't going to get myself between. The Doctor barely managed to avoid being hit between the legs as he crawled back, "Oh, yeah, that helps," He said sarcastically as he got back up, "Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks." He jabbed his sword only to be met by another parry.

The Sycorax leader hit The Doctor in the stomach with his elbow, making him grunt. He quickly dodged another swing from the leader. He twisted away, and started to run down a side tunnel so we followed.

"Bit of fresh air?" The Doctor asked before he stepped out to the spaceship's hull. We watched as he and the leader continued to swing and cross blades with each other on the ship's edge.

The Doctor barely blocked the leader's blows, when suddenly the Sycorax leader hit him on the nose, causing him to take a step back. I took a step forwards but stopped when he yelled, "Stay back!"

Rose grabbed my arm to pull me back to her side as The Doctor continued, "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet." The Sycorax roared and began to swing his sword. The Doctor lifted his sword and they ran at each other, and met in the center, their blades crossing as they pushed at each other.

The Sycorax swung at The Doctor and they fought when he hit The Doctor in the stomach again, causing him to fall to his back. I gasped as he fell close to the edge.

The Sycorax swung down and this time, The Doctor wasn't able to move in time. I gasped and put my hand on my mouth as the sword cut through The Doctor's hand, his hand and sword fell through the air towards Earth.

"You cut my hand off," The Doctor said in disbelief. "Ya! Sycorax!" The Sycorax leader cheered. The Doctor got up, "And now I know what sort of man I am," He said as the leader turned back to him, "I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this." He lifted his stub arm and we all watched as a new hand grew out.

"Witchcraft," The Sycorax said. "Time Lord," The Doctor corrected. I turned and grabbed a sword from the nearest Sycorax guard, and unsheathed it as I turned back around. "Doctor!" I yelled and he looked at me. I threw the sword at him and he caught it.

"Oh, so I'm still The Doctor, then?" He asked as he twirled the sword in his new hand. "You'll always be The Doctor," I said. "Want to know the best bit?" The Doctor asked questioned as he swung the sword at the Sycorax leader, "This new hand?" He grinned, "It's a fighting hand!"

He charged in to attack and this time, it was The Doctor who disarmed the leader, jabbing him in the stomach twice and caused him to fall back at the edge. The Doctor placed his sword at the leader's chin, "I win."

"Then kill me," The Sycorax said. "I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command," The Doctor said, "Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes," The Sycorax replied easily and The Doctor pressed the sword harder at the leader as he hissed, "Swear on the blood of your species!"

"I swear," The Sycorax said. "There we are, then," The Doctor said, suddenly back to his light-hearted self, "Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow." He stabbed the sword into the ground as Harriet cheered and clapped, "Bravo!" She cheered and The Doctor grinned at her.

"That says it all," I said with a smile and ran towards him as Rose and Mickey hugged. "Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams," The Doctor told me with a smile as I helped him with the robe. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on." He rummaged in his pocket, "What have I got in here?" He pulled out a fruit, "A Satsuma." He looked back at me and I smiled, shaking my head. "That's robe is your Uncle's, isn't it?" I nodded and giggled. "Ah, Pete. He like snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?" We walked back towards the others, "You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old Satsuma. Who wants a Satsuma?"

I glanced behind me to see that the Sycorax got up and grabbed his sword. "Doctor," I said as the Sycorax roared and started to charge at The Doctor's back. The Doctor's face turned cold as he threw the Satsuma at an orange button on the side of the spaceship. It hit the button, causing part of the ship's wing to open up beneath the Sycorax feet and he fell through, screaming to his death.

"No second chances," The Doctor said as we both continued towards the others, "I'm that sort of a man."

We all went back inside to stand in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor turned around to face the aliens, "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended."

Suddenly a burst of blue light all of us back to Earth. "Where are we?" Rose asked. "We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!" Mickey cheered. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," The Doctor said as he started up at the sky. We watched as the ship turned and started to fly off.

"Go on, my son!" Mickey cheered. I jumped onto his back and he and Rose laughed. "Yeah! Don't come back!" I said. "It is defended!" Mickey said. I got off of his back and we both hugged. I pulled away so he and Rose could hug as well.

"We did it!" Rose cheered before they pulled away. I smirked and pushed Rose back to Mickey. She gave me a playfully look and I shrugged innocently.

"Sammy! Rose!"

Rose and I turned around to see Aunt Jackie and Uncle Pete running towards us. "Mum, Dad," Rose called before we both rushed to meet them. The four of us hugged, "You did it! Oh!" Aunt Jackie said.

"You did it too, Aunt Jackie," I said as we pulled away from each other and Mickey walked over to us. "It was the tea. Fixed his head."

"That was all I needed, cup of tea," The Doctor said with a smile. "I said so," Aunt Jackie said, "Is it him, though? Is it really The Doctor?"

Uncle Pete frowned, "It that the Prime Minister?" He asked and Aunt Jackie gasped, "Oh, my God, it is! It's the bleeding Prime Minister!" She said. The Doctor grinned, "Come here, you."

He threw his arms around Uncle Pete and Aunt Jackie and they hugged before Rose, Mickey and I joined. "Are you alright now?" Uncle Pete asked The Doctor before we all pulled away. "Yeah, I am," He replied with a grin.

Suddenly we all looked up when a green laser blast appeared in the sky, only to be joined by another from the other side and then another, until it formed one giant beam that blasted into space. We watched as a giant explosion rent the sky.

"What is that?" Rose asked. The Doctor looked at Harriet with a hard stare and took a step towards her, "That was murder."

"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago," Harriet said. "But they were leaving," The Doctor said.

"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth," She said, "I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's Golden Age," He said sarcastically. "It comes with a price," She said. "I gave them the wrong warning," He said, "I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf," Harriet said. "Then I should have stopped you," The Doctor said. "What does that make you, Doctor?" Harriet asked, "Another alien threat?"

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man," He said, "I could bring down your Government with a single word."

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that," Harriet said. "No, you're right. Not a single word, just six," The Doctor said. "I don't think so," She said.

"Six words," He said. "Stop it!" She demanded. "Six," He repeated before walking over to the man that was with us. He whispered something to his ear before walking back to us. "Let's go," He said before we all started to walk away.

"Doctor! Doctor, what did you?" Harriet asked before turning to the man, "What was that? What did he say?" She turned back to us, "What did you say, Doctor? Doctor! I'm sorry."

Rose, Mickey, Uncle Pete, Aunt Jackie and I went back to the house while The Doctor went to the TARDIS to get change. I sat with Rose at the couch and she then grinned as she looked behind me. She tapped my lap and nodded slightly behind me. I turned slightly to see The Doctor walking inside, closing the door after him. He was wearing a dark brown pinstripe suit with a matching tie and a long light brown overcoat.

I slowly started to smile at him and he smiled back at me. "Come on, everyone," Aunt Jackie said and we all started to sit down at the table. I glanced back at The Doctor as he sat down beside me and he looked at me again with a smile. I looked down, smiling shyly before glancing at Rose, who sat down on my other side.

We all started to pull Christmas crackers over roast chicken, vegetables and wine. When I pulled a cracker with The Doctor, I placed a pink crown on my head as Rose suddenly pointed at the TV, "Look, it's Harriet Jones."

We all turned to the TV to see a very harried Harriet talking with reporters. We all got up and sat down at the living room. I looked over at The Doctor as he put on a pair of glasses before I looked back at the TV.

" _Look, there is nothing wrong with my health. I don't know where these stories are coming from. And a vote of no confidence is completely unjustified_ ," Harriet said.

The phone rang and Aunt Jackie went to answered it before turning back to us, "It's Beth. She says go and look outside."

"What is it?" I asked and she shrugged before we all walked out of the building to see it was snowing outside.

"It's beautiful," Rose said as we all looked up at the sky. We saw bright lights flashed past in streaks through the night sky and I frowned. "What are those?" I asked as The Doctor stood by my side. "It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere," He explained, "This isn't snow, it's ash."

I looked back at Rose and she sighed, "Okay, not so beautiful," She muttered and I smiled softly at her before turning back to look at the sky.

"This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new," The Doctor said.

I glanced nervously at him and took a deep breath before speaking, "What about you?" I asked and he looked at me, "What are you going to do?"

He shrugged, "Well, back to the TARDIS. Same old life," He said. "On your own?" I asked. "Why, don't you want to come?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I just thought, because I changed . . ." He trailed off. "Well, I thought, because you changed . . . you might not want me anymore," I admitted. "Oh, I'd love you to come," He said quickly. "Okay," I said, giving him a soft smile which he smiled back.

"I reckon you're mad, the pair of you," Aunt Jackie spoke and huffed, "It's like you go looking for trouble."

"Well, we are talking about Sam," Uncle Pete said, giving Aunt Jackie a sly smile. She smiled, shaking her head as her arms crossed across her chest.

"Trouble's just the bits in-between," The Doctor said with a laugh as he stepped between my Uncle and Aunt, "It's all waiting out there." He wrapped his arms around their shoulders, "And it's brand new to me. All those planets, and creatures and horizons. I haven't seem them yet! Not with these eyes." He walked past them and went back to my side, glancing back at me with a grin, "And it is going to be fantastic." I smiled at him and he reached out his hand for me.

I grinned as I glanced down at it briefly before looking back up at him. "That hand gives me the creeps," I said with a smirk but grabbed it.

We both looked back up at the sky, "Where are we going to go first?" I asked. "Um . . ." He trailed off and lifted our hands to point into the sky, "That way. No, hold on." He tilted his head slightly and pointed a little more to the right, "That way."

"That way?" I asked and he nodded. I smiled, "It's works with me." He looked at me and grinned.


End file.
